“The lack of real upkeep and daily attention to such a major building is the cause of this catastrophe,” he said.

“This is not about looking for people to blame. The responsibility is collective because this is the most loved monument in the country.”

French firefighters said Tuesday morning that the fire had been extinguished and that experts were beginning to assess the damage.

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The interior of Notre-Dame seen as the fire continued to burn early Tuesday.

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REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer/Pool TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

The fire engulfed the cathedral’s roof and toppled its 19th-century spire. Despite the damage, much of the building avoided destruction, and the bell towers and outer walls still stand.

The cause of the fire is unclear. French prosecutors said Tuesday that it was most likely an accident, possibly related to restoration work that had been underway since 2017. It is also unclear whether any amount of renovation could have prevented such a fire from breaking out, though the effects of this week’s blaze were most likely worsened by weakened structures in the cathedral.

In recent years, the French government had pledged up to 40 million euros, or $45 million, for this restoration project over the next decade, The Times of London reported.

The cathedral is the property of the French government, as is every church in France.

But France’s strict separation of religious and secular life, dating back to the French Revolution, has made it unclear who is responsible for the cathedral’s upkeep.

The government owns the cathedral, but an agreement obliges the Archdiocese of Paris to maintain it, according to Time.

Citing Marie-Claude Gauvard, a French historian who wrote a book on Notre-Dame, The Times of London said Paris’ city council and the French government’s ministry of historic monuments also had a say in the upkeep of Notre-Dame.

The result, Gauvard said, was a delay while the agencies worked out what should be done and by whom.

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The Pietà in Notre-Dame, carved by Nicolas Coustou in the early 1700s.

In August 2018, Vice News reported that the cathedral needed more than 164 million euros, or $185 million, to address the destructive effects of time, pollution, and millions of visitors, far more than the 40 million euros then on the table.

Marie-Hélène Didier, the French official in charge of the restoration, seemed sanguine last year about the state of the cathedral.

In a statement reported by The Times of London from 2018, she said: “The cathedral is not going to collapse at all. She is an old lady which has been undergoing the wear of time. We intervene before the disorder creates greater risks.”

French President Emmanuel Macron has now pledged to rebuild the cathedral, and he announced an international fundraising campaign that by Tuesday morning had seen some of France’s billionaires contribute.

“Notre-Dame is our history, our literature, part of our psyche, the place of all our great events, our epidemics, our wars, our liberations, the epicenter of our lives,” Macron said, adding: “So I solemnly say tonight: We will rebuild it together.”